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Man apologizes for scare at Walmart, released

Edtitor’s note: The Daily Sentinel distinguishes between the term “homeless,” for those temporarily without a home and working to improve their lot, and “vagrant,” for those choosing a lifestyle without a permanent residence, as defined by Merriam-Webster.

A Grand Junction Walmart was locked down temporarily Sunday morning after a man in the parking lot was overheard making generalized threats about “killing people,” according to the Grand Junction Police Department.

Customers of the store, at 2545 Rimrock Ave., reported hearing the man make the threats and called 911 and alerted the store manager, according to police. Officers asked the store to go into lockdown while they detained the man, who is a vagrant and has a mental illness, according to police.

Officers initiated a high-risk stop because of the possibility the man might have had a weapon, but he was unarmed, police reported.

According to the Grand Junction Police Department, no crime was committed, so the man was released. He was very sorry for scaring people, police reported.